Private hospitals ‘poaching doctors’

Private hospitals ‘poaching doctors’

Doctors have warned an inquiry that public hospitals will soon face crippling staff shortages in some sectors because private hospitals are poaching experienced doctors.

Obstetrics specialists, Dr Therese McGee and Dr Andrew Pesce, told the special commission of inquiry hearing at Westmead Hospital in Sydney that there is an exodus of obstetricians from public hospitals to the private sector.

Dr McGee says pay can be up to three times higher in private hospitals and the workload is easier because patients needing more complex care are shifted into public hospitals.

She says that most public obstetrics departments will be closed within five years if no reforms are made.

Westmead’s director of pathology Professor Jerry Koutts also fears staff shortages, and told the inquiry that there may not be anyone willing to take on his job when he retires.

‘Struggling to maintain service’

Professor Kouts said that his staff feel they are struggling to maintain their service commitment to the hospital.

He said out-of-date technology was slowing down the processing of patient test results, causing significant treatment delays.

He told the inquiry that about $1 million should be spent maintaining pathology equipment each year but the current infrastructure budget was about half that.

Meanwhile, the head of pre-vocational training at Westmead Hospital, Dr Roslyn Crampton, told the inquiry junior doctors there did not receive enough training.

The senior doctor said team training and patient care courses for junior doctors were too expensive and far beyond what the hospital could afford.

Dr Crampton also told the inquiry junior doctors were often “pens on legs”, transcribing patient notes for senior doctors when they should be assisting in patient care.

She backed claims made earlier today by junior registrar Timothy Chan that patient care at the hospital was compromised by insufficient computer resources and IT support.

Dr Chan told the inquiry computer servers at the hospital were slow and frequently crashed, making it difficult to get access to patient test results.

Professor Koutts also said the new software systems had been introduced on the cheap.

The commission’s next hearing will be on Monday at Wollongong Hospital.